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The Far Side is a comic strip created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. The first Far Side strip was published in the San Francisco Chronicle on January 1, 1980. The Far Side evolved from Nature's Way, a similar strip that Larson produced between 1976 and 1979.

Publication history

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Background and development

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The Far Side was created by Gary Larson, a cartoonist based in Seattle, Washington. Larson enjoyed drawing as a child but never thought he would become a cartoonist; thus, he never studied art in school outside of required classes.[1] In 1976, Larson was working as a cashier at a retail music store[2] when he realized how much he hated his job. Two days into this "career crisis", Larson sat down at his kitchen table and drew six cartoons.[3] The next day, he showed the cartoons to an editor at the local magazine Pacific Search. The editor was impressed and paid him US$90, so Larson quit his job to start cartooning and created Nature's Way, a single-panel comic strip that served as the basis for The Far Side. Larson showed Nature's Way to the editor of the weekly newspaper Summer News Review, who began to publish it on a regular basis.[4]

Although Larson was initially excited to be published, he was only paid US$3 a cartoon. Eventually, he stopped and became an investigator for the local humane society. In 1979, a reporter for the Seattle Times who had met Larson while investigating "pony abuse"[5] showed Nature's Way to her editor. It was revived and began appearing in the Saturday edition of the paper.[4] Larson was paid US$15 a cartoon. After about a year, Larson took a vacation from his humane society work to drive to San Francisco at the encouragement of his girlfriend. In what he called a "daring plan to expand this 'publication empire'", Larson left a portfolio with his work at the headquarters of the San Francisco Chronicle.[5][6] After several days, Larson was informed that editor Stan Arnold wanted to speak with him. Arnold was impressed by his work and mentioned that, should the Chronicle be interested in Larson's work, it could become syndicated.[7]

When Larson returned to Seattle, he received a letter informing him Nature's Way had been canceled because it generated too many complaints; he attributes this to the fact it ran next to a crossword puzzle aimed at children. Larson believes had this happened a week before, he would not have gone to San Francisco.[8] The next day, Arnold called Larson and told him the syndicate affiliate of the Chronicle decided to syndicate his work. The affiliate, Chronicle Features, coined the name The Far Side; Larson joked Chronicle "could have called it 'Revenge of the Zucchini People' for all I cared."[9] Larson's initial contract for The Far Side called for it to have a cast of recurring characters (like how Peanuts had Charlie Brown), because Chronicle believed newspaper comics needed familiar characters to be successful.[10] However, Larson disagreed, feeling it would be limiting and diminish the humor of the strip.[11] In his first month of syndication, Larson made about US$100.[5] The contract with Chronicle lasted four years. After it expired, Universal Press Syndicate picked up the syndication rights.[9]

Publication

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The Far Side made its debut in the January 1, 1980 edition of the Chronicle, and a few months later, Chronicle Features began to offer it to other papers.[9] While it was only in four papers by 1982,[12] by 1983 that number had increased to eighty, and by 1985 two hundred.[2] Initially, Larson drew six cartoons a week,[10] which were sent to papers a few weeks in advance.[13] By 1987, he was drawing seven cartoons a week. In 1988, Larson took a 14-month hiatus from The Far Side to travel abroad and study jazz guitar with Jim Hall. When he resumed working on The Far Side in 1990, he negotiated an agreement in which he would only have to draw five cartoons a week.[2] The final Far Side comic was run in newspapers on January 1, 1995.[14] Larson retrospectively explained he chose to retire from making The Far Side because he felt its quality was beginning to drop[2] and wanted to pursue a career as a jazz guitarist.[15]

During its 15-year run, Larson produced a total of 4,337 Far Side cartoons.[10] By the time of its conclusion, the series was carried in more than 1,900 papers and translated into 17 languages.[2] Universal briefly re-syndicated The Far Side for a three-month period in late 2003 to promote the release of the anthology The Complete Far Side: 1980—1994,[15] and many newspapers still publish reprints.[16] Larson has expressed disapproval of the distribution of his cartoons on the internet and has requested that fans do not do so; he wrote in a letter that his work is too personal and important to him to have others "take control of it".[17] For this reason, Universal's online service GoComics does not offer Far Side cartoons.[18] In September 2019, the official Far Side website was updated to inform readers that the strip was "(soon-to-be) unfrozen" to begin "[a] new online era of The Far Side".[19]

Collected editions

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There are 23 collected editions of The Far Side,[20] which combined have sold over 45 million copies and have generated US$70 million in revenue.[16] The books are published by Andrews McMeel Publishing, an affiliate of Universal. Andrews McMeel acquired the rights to publish collected editions of the series in 1982, the year the first Far Side book was released. It was surprisingly successful, which influenced Larson's decision to sign on with Universal after his contract with Chronicle expired.[9] In January 1985, the four Far Side books out at the time—The Far Side, The Far Side Gallery, Beyond the Far Side and In Search of the Far Side—were simultaneous bestsellers; Jim Davis's Garfield was the only newspaper comic that had previously accomplished this feat.[5] New Far Side books continued to be published after the series concluded and remain in print and popular today.[11][16][20]

During his 14-month hiatus, Larson produced The PreHistory of The Far Side: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit, a Far Side anthology that commemorates the series' 10th anniversary. It contains commentary on individual strips, letters from angry readers, unpublished cartoons, and some of Larson's personal favorite Far Sides.[2][21][22] In 2003, Andrews McMeel released the two-volume, twenty-pound anthology The Complete Far Side: 1990—1994. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon syndicated and, when it was initially published, retailed for US$135. Larson spent three years working on it; the majority of work went into redrawing characters' eyeballs because he was unhappy how they looked when transferred digitally.[23] It sold 350,000 copies and at the time was the most expensive New York Times bestseller.[20] A new, lighter edition of The Complete Far Side was released in 2014.[14]

Overview

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The Far Side is primarily told through the use of a single, vertical, rectangular panel,[5] occasionally split into small sections of four, six, or eight for storytelling purposes. A caption or dialogue usually appears under the panel as typed text, although speech balloons are sometimes used for conversations. Certain strips, mostly those published on Sundays, are double-sized,[24] colored,[16] and have handwritten captions.[25] When Larson drew panels they were 6×7.5 inches; he penciled until the image "closely approximate[d]" his vision, and then he would ink it. The caption was handwritten in pencil underneath the cartoon. When Universal received a cartoon, it would set the caption to the usual typeface and add copyright and publication dates.[13]

The series is characterized by its unconventional, often surrealistic, style of humor.[16] Brigham Young University professor Kerry Soper described it as "an anomaly" among other newspaper cartoons[26] and ComicsAlliance wrote it was "surreal, random, and occasionally very dark".[22] Larson was influenced by his family's "morbid" sense of humor.[16] His older brother Dan, who would often play pranks on him that took advantage of his fears, was a particular influence.[20][27] He also drew inspiration from personal experience, Mad, and his favorite childhood book, Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat.[28][29] Larson sought to mock human condition, often by placing animals in human positions. Fear is also recurring in the strip;[29] The Far Side was produced in a time when horror comedy was becoming popular.[30]

Recurring themes in The Far Side include people stranded on desert islands, aliens, Heaven, Hell, the life of cavemen, and medival dungeons. Animals—especially cows—are also common. Larson focused on subjects he considered taboo because he wanted his cartoons to be personal statements.[29] Larson's editors refused to publish strips they found indecent, offensive, or hard to understand. Examples include cowboys roasting a horse over a fire because they are "hungry enough to eat one" and a bird eating scrambled babies. Generally, they also avoided publishing cartoons with scatological humor; Larson recalled that during the strip's first few years he was not even allowed to draw an outhouse. Larson often disagreed with his editors' decisions and was sometimes successful in getting rejected cartoons published, although he does admit most of their decisions likely saved his career.[31] Larson also says he never tried to intentionally offend readers.[29]

Merchandise and other media

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A large amount of Far Side merchandise was produced, ranging from greeting cards, posters, t-shirts, and mugs.[5][29] For many years, Larson produced a yearly calendar that contained a Far Side cartoon for each day of the year. He stopped making them annually in 2002, but created another edition in 2006; all proceeds from this edition went to Conservation International.[20] In the years they were available, Far Side greeting cards and calendars sold 110 million and 45 million copies, respectively.[32] Larson stated in 1987 he was personally embarrassed by how much money he made from Far Side merchandise.[29]

Reception and legacy

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Tom Pappalardo on Close to Home being a Far Side ripoff: http://blog.tompappalardo.com/?p=895

References

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  1. ^ Larson 1989, p. 13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f McCarthy, Susan (December 21, 1999). "Gary Larson". Salon. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Larson 1989, p. 25.
  4. ^ a b Larson 1989, p. 28.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bernstein, Fred (February 4, 1985). "Loony 'Toonist Gary Larson Takes Millions for a Daily Walk on the Far Side". People. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Larson 1989, p. 36.
  7. ^ Larson 1989, p. 37.
  8. ^ Larson 1989, p. 37—38.
  9. ^ a b c d Larson 1989, p. 38.
  10. ^ a b c "'Far Side' Cartoonist Gary Larson". NPR. October 17, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Morrissey, Jake (October 7, 1996). "The Far Side of Retirement". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  12. ^ Larsion 1989, p. 139.
  13. ^ a b Larson 1989, p. 125.
  14. ^ a b Solomon, Charles (December 2, 2014). "20 years later, 'The Far Side' is still far out, and the new collection is lighter!". SCPR. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Cook, Rebecca (November 30, 2003). "Gary Larson revisits 'The Far Side'". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Collins, Joseph (August 20, 2016). "Gary Larson - Cartoonist With Compassion". Infinite Fire. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  17. ^ Larson, Gary. "Gary Larson Cartoon of the Week". portmann.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  18. ^ Hughes, Joseph (April 23, 2013). "New App Makes 'Calvin and Hobbes', 'Peanuts', and More Classic Strips Available for Free". Comics Alliance. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  19. ^ Burton, Bonnie (September 16, 2019). "The Far Side could be back from extinction, and the timing's so right". CNET. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  20. ^ a b c d e Weise, Elizabeth (November 22, 2006). "Larson is drawn to the wild side". USA Today. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  21. ^ Larson 1989.
  22. ^ a b Sims, Chris (August 14, 2015). "The Strange Comics and Equally Strange Legacy of 'The Far Side' and Gary Larson". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  23. ^ Stein, Joel (September 29, 2003). "Life Beyond The Far Side". Time. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  24. ^ Larson 1989, p. 146.
  25. ^ Larson 1989, p. 239.
  26. ^ Mann, Court (September 20, 2018). "'The Far Side' was a weird comic. This BYU professor helped us translate it". Deseret News. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  27. ^ The Mag (November 12, 2007). "50 Reasons to Subscribe to mental_floss (#45, Gary Larson)". Mental Floss.
  28. ^ Larson 1989, p. 43—97.
  29. ^ a b c d e f Sherr, Linda; Larson, Gary (January 8, 1987). Interview with Gary Larson on 20/20 (Interview). American Broadcasting Company.
  30. ^ Carroll, Noël (Spring 1999). "Horror and Humor". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism: Aesthetics and Popular Culture. 57 (2): 145.
  31. ^ Larson 1989, p. 172—183.
  32. ^ Angier, Natalie (April 28, 1998). "AFICIONADO OF SCIENCE: Gary Larson; An Amateur of Biology Returns to His Easel". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2018.

Bibliography

  • Larson, Gary (1989). The PreHistory of the Far Side: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8362-1851-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
    • Origin of the Species (pp. 13—38)
      • Pg. 13: liked to draw as a kid, but never thought he'd be a cartoonist. Thus, Larson never studied art in school, besides in required classes. More of a love for science
      • Pg. 14—24: Childhood drawings
      • Pg. 25: Larson began to work at a music store as a cashier, but after a year he realized how much he hated his job. Unsure of what to do, he took a few days off; after two days, sat down and started to draw. Unclear as to why he did. Ended up drawing six cartoons.
      • Pg. 26—7: five of the six drawings (he lost the sixth)
      • Pg. 28: Took the six cartoons to a local magazine in Seattle (Pacific Northwest; at the time Pacific Search). The editor was impressed and paid him $90. Larson quit his job as a cashier to start cartooning and created Nature's Way, the comic that became The Far Side. He showed it to the editor at the Summer News Review, who began to publish it on a regular basis. However, he was only paid $3 a cartoon, so he eventually stopped and became an local investigator for the Humane Society. .
      • Pg. 29—35: reprints of Nature's Way cartoons. Three of the cartoons were never submitted by Larson because he knew they would offend people
      • Pg. 36: In a "daring plan to expand this 'publication empire'", Larson took a vacation from the Humane Society to drive to San Francisco. He left his portfolio at the headquarters of the San Francisco Chronicle. A few days went by and his enthusiasm waned.
      • Pg. 37: Finally, after a few days Larson was informed that editor Stan Arnold wanted to speak with him. Arnold loved Larson's cartoons and they talked for a while. Arnold mentioned should the Chronicle be interested in Larson's work, it could become syndicated.
      • Pg. 38: Around the same time, Nature's Way was canceled by the Seattle Times because it generated too many complaints. The next day, Arnold called Larson to tell him Chronicle Features, the Chronicle's syndicate affiliate, had decided to syndicate Larson's work. Chronicle Features renamed the strip The Far Side. It debuted in the Chronicle on January 1, 1980, and after a few months Chronicle Features began to offer it to other newspapers. In 1982, Andrews McMeel Publishing, the publishing arm of Universal Press Syndicate, published the first collected edition to commercial success. When Larson's first contract expired in 1984, Universal picked up syndication.
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